By Paul DeMarco
This week we officially celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the statehood of Alabama.
Over the past three years, the Alabama Bicentennial Commission has developed educational programs and exhibits to document the history of the state for the public to understand our history. The celebration culminates with a festival in Montgomery this Saturday to celebrate the birthdate of the state.
When Alabama was admitted to the union on December 14, 1819, it became the Nation’s 22nd state.
Years of public corruption and anemic funding for state agencies had taken its toll on state morale and government operations. We finally appear to have stability with state leadership in Montgomery and state revenues have increased with good economic growth.
There is also a net gain of folks moving to the state as both national and international businesses decide to call Alabama home. While Alabama has not increased its population as much as other states, we appear to be on an upswing.
The state is now funding its education and general fund budgets at record amounts. However, we still have hurdles to overcome. As a state we still have a lot of work to do to improve education and provide for the safety of the public. We must tackle violent crime, including recent unprecedented numbers of police officers killed in our state and standardized education testing shows that our students trail behind far too many states.
Looking forward, the state has received a lot of positive economic news and more is expected in 2020. The future for the state looks bright, as the people of our state are some of the most patriotic and philanthropic in the Nation.
We have much to be proud of as we celebrate the bicentennial of the state’s birthdate, so Happy Birthday Alabama. Here is to another 200 years.
Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives